The Lexx's Visit to Sunnydale
by Angel Sacrifice
Summary: Updated from original version, just with spelling mistakes and the like corrected. The crew of the Lexx land in Sunnydale and encounter BTVS characters as well as some people they hadn't expected to see ever again...
1. Comet

Author:Sacrificial Angel   
Email: sunless_undead@hotmail.com  
Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/cof_girl  
Title: The Lexx's Visit to Sunnydale  
Rating: PG13  
Archiving: Imajica's page, anyone else, please tell me before using it  
  
  
A/N - Story written at point of time where:  
Buffy is still at school, Spike is alone (no Drusilla), but he has no chip yet  
Lexx has destroyed the planets Fire and Water (end of season 3)  
  
  
Extra invented fact - During the time after Fire and Water were destroyed, the Lexx crew went into cryostasis for 100 years or so to hide from the ghosts who were haunting the ship and wouldn't move on, and threatened to possess them and make them do bad stuff. Unlikely? Yes. Impossible? No.  
  
  
The Lexx's Visit to Sunnydale  
  
Chapter One  
  
Spike looked up at the sky. Interesting how it was always somehow the same, yet there would always be something different. Like that comet, for instance. He'd never seen it before, and it seemed to be moving fast. It wasn't an aeroplane or satellite, so it was probably a comet. No doubt astronomers were following it. No doubt the UFO-watching crowd worshipped it. No doubt the witches and astrologically minded people had figured out some sort of good or evil portent it carried. But the real explanation, thought Spike, what it probably all boiled down to, was just another lump of rock careening through space at a rate of noughts, and it just happened to be close enough to the earth to be visible. He considered another possibility, but quickly dismissed it as too unlikely. It passed over a hill out of sight, and Spike walked back to the crypt, knowing sunrise would be in just under an hour's time.  
  
At the foot of a hill, somewhere in California as the day began to dawn, three strangers unknowingly walked in the direction of a town named Sunnydale. A tall man dressed in black, a shorter older-looking man in a red uniform of some kind, and a young red-haired woman scantily dressed in a skirt and short top, carrying what looked like a robot's head.  
"Is it going to be much further until we meet some people?" The man in the uniform asked.  
"Quiet Stan, save your energy for walking, not complaining." the woman replied, her voice had a german accent to it.  
  
Buffy Summers walked to school, happy in the glowing sunshine of the early morning. How one person could be both a morning person and up all night was a mystery, but it was most likely a part of the "Slayer" package of superpowers. She looked around cheerfully at a town she knew to be on top of a hell mouth and packed full of monstrous demons before walking into the school and meeting up with Willow and Xander.  
"I'm out patrolling tonight." she told them. "Giles said something about a comet signifying something, according to some astrologers. Plus Doyle had a vision, Angel said. Typical that it'd show up here. It's amazing how many beings of darkness are attracted to somewhere with a name like 'Sunnydale', don't you think?"  
"Yeah." said Willow. "Well, we'll be there to help you with whatever it is."  
"Course we will." agreed Xander.   
  
After classes, Giles told them unhappily that he didn't have a clue as to what they would find. There was little to indicate whether the comet signified good or evil, and too many people wanted to tell him it was a UFO. To be on the safe side, he warned Buffy to be heavily armed and on the look out for any suspicious looking characters. What a joke - finding suspicious characters at night in Sunnydale was like finding bad acting in an American soap. She sighed, and agreed to this, before heading home for a meal with her mother and asking nicely if she would be able to stay at Willows house for the night.  
  
The sky was dark again, and Spike woke up. He walked out amongst the gravestones when he heard voices.  
"What do you mean, this is where the dead belong?" A man's voice called out.   
"It is where the dead are buried." another male voice, deeper. "Should you choose to make yourself a home in this land, I will remain here."  
"Come on Kai," a female voice. "I..." she broke off. "I thought I heard something."  
"This place makes me very nervous." the first voice said. "We should go. Now." Spike made his approach.  
"Oh, come on." Spike said, the surprise of seeing him had the intended effect on the three people. "You can't be sick of this place already."  
"Who are you?" The man in black asked.   
"Spike." he said. "Pleased to meet you."   
"I am Kai." replied the man.   
"Hi Spike." said the girl. "I'm Xev, and this is Stan. Can you show us a place to stay tonight?"  
"Oh, of course." Spike grinned. "I wouldn't leave you here all alone. What's that you're carrying?"  
"This is 790." she said. "A robot head, in love with Kai... it's a long story."  
"Ah." said Spike. "A robot with feelings, that's very strange."  
"You know where we can stay tonight?" Xev asked. Spike nodded.  
"There's plenty of people willing to take in people for the night around here. Friendly area. Especially the ones that look kinda like this guy." he told them, pointing to Kai. "But you have to watch out for things... the Initiative, the Slayer, stuff like that."  
"What are those?" asked Kai.  
"Well the Initiative are just plain evil, they'd be very interested in taking you lot to pieces for research. The Slayer... well the name says it all. She kills. If you don't want to be killed, you avoid her."  
"That is not so much of a problem as it might seem." said Kai. "I have been killed already."  
"And you're still here to tell the tale?" Spike said. "Impressive. Well... I'd offer you a place to stay myself, but my own living arrangements aren't too pretty. Good luck!" Spike disappeared into the night.  
"What was that all about?" asked Stan.  
"I am not sure." said Kai. "But I think we should be on our guard against whoever this Slayer is."  
"Maybe Xev and Stan should go look for her." suggested 790.  
"Hey!" said Stan. "Shut up. I'm not suicidal, y'know."  
"You and Xev stay here with 790. I will go out to find the Slayer."   
"Why don't I just call her here?" 790 suggested. "Oh, Slaaayerr!!!"   
"Quiet 790." Xev said. "If you stay quiet with us then Kai will give you a kiss when he comes back, how about that?"  
"You will?" Xev nodded enthusiastically at Kai.  
"I will." he said, then walked away. Red heart images blinked silently on 790s eyes.  
  
Kai approached the young blonde girl, until he was standing only a metre back from her. He didn't go any closer, not wanting to scare her away.  
"Who are you?" he asked. The girl looked at him, considering. There were people she knew she should only introduce herself as 'Buffy' to, and it was almost always clear who people like that were. But it was the middle of the night in a cemetery, he looked very unusual in both his clothing and his hair, and she was sure this wasn't a 'Buffy' occasion.  
"I'm the Slayer." she said confidently. Kai's expression became dark, and he took a step towards her.  
"I have been told to be wary of you." he said. "But I do not fear you. You cannot hurt me, as I am already dead. And much like yourself, I am an assassin."  
"Boy, you must be new here." she said. Kai nodded, and she put her hands on her hips, attempting to draw herself up to eyelevel with the tall stranger. "You obviously don't know who I am then..." she paused for a name.  
"Kai."  
"Kai, because if you did, you'd know that I *can* hurt you, even if you're not technically alive. Actually, hurting the dead is something of a speciality for me." She pulled out a sharp wooden stick and jabbed it into Kai's chest, exactly where his heart had once been. "There." she said, and paused. Nothing happened. Kai looked down and pulled it out, handing it back to the girl, who looked shocked.  
"That," he said, "did not hurt. I no longer feel pain."  
"You weren't meant to hurt, you were meant to die." she informed him. "I guess this means you're not a vampire."  
"No." said Kai.  
"And not a human either, you don't bleed. What are you?"  
"I am Brunnen G." he replied. "I too was some kind of slayer, once, in the service of his divine... his shadow. Who do you work for?"  
"Noone." she said. "I mean, some might say Giles, but he's more of a watcher really."  
"Does Giles work for anyone?"  
"Well the council of watchers of course." she said.  
"What is their purpose?"  
"I don't know." she told him. "I mean they're pretty evil... or not really, because they have like this whole *universe* of evil to fight, but they're pretty harsh."  
"His shadow called this universe evil." said Kai. "I do not believe that it is, entirely. It is where my ancestors came from.  
"Where, exactly?" she asked. "If you don't mind me asking."  
"Brunnis." he said. "But it no longer exists."  
"Okay..." she said, "but - " she looked around her. Kai was no longer there.  
  
"Come on Giles." she said, at the library the next day. "We need to look stuff up. There was someone last night, black clothes, weird hair, and he wasn't a vampire but he said he was dead."  
"One of those... strange young people?" Giles suggested.  
"No." she said. "I staked him, and it did nothing. No dust, no blood. Then he said he was a kind of slayer too, but for a shadow or something. Oh, and he said that he was a Brunnen G, whatever that is, and he came from Brunnis. I think we should hit the books."  
"Of course." he said. "But it might take a while. I've never heard of this Brunnen G demon. Or of Brunnis."  
"He said it was destroyed." Buffy said.  
"Right." said Giles. "Well, like you said, I should look this up. Meanwhile, you're on patrol duty and if he shows up again, try to get some more information."  
"Sure." she said and walked out.  
  
"Kai!" exclaimed Xev, seeing the tall man walking towards them. 790 made a sound not unlike an "ahem", and dutifully, Kai kissed the robot head. Stan and Xev were both amused by this.  
"What happened?" asked Stan, getting back to the point.  
"Did you find anything?" asked Xev.  
"I found the Slayer." he told them. "she tried to attack me with a sharp piece of wood. She told me that she was an assassin in the service of another, as once I was."  
"Who does she kill for?" Xev asked.  
"Giles of the council of watchers." Kai said. "I do not know who he is, but from what she said, he is in some ways similar to His Shadow. I think that we should meet him."  
"I think we really *shouldn't* meet him!" said Stan. "His Shadow was evil! The last thing we need is another one. I think we should get food for the Lexx and get out of here."  
"And leave the planet to the same fate as the Cluster?" Xev asked. "We can't do that. We have to stop him." Stan wanted to protest, but the look in Xev's eyes told him that this would be futile. He sighed.  
"Fine." he agreed. Spike, a few metres away from them and obscured by shadows, watched with a wide grin on his face, then turned and walked away, his long black coat billowing out behind him.  
  
Giles went to the table where Buffy, Willow and Xander sat, a large heavy book in his hands. "What we need to know is in here." he told them. The title was 'History of the Future Past'.  
"It looks pretty old and thick." said Xander.  
"That means this is something serious, right?" Buffy asked.  
"Yes." said Giles. "Very serious. And you should know that this book is not the original copy, but has been copied out from an earlier edition, perhaps several, if the information in this book is anything to go by."  
"How old is it then?" asked Willow, in awed respect for such a relic.  
"This version," said Giles, "a few hundred years old, I should think. But the original, if the book itself it accurate, is dated to millennia ago. And that's not even the most interesting part, compared with where it comes from."  
"Where?" asked Buffy.  
"Well it says that it originates not only from another planet, but from another universe, reached through a fractal core... some kind of black hole."  
"Wow." she said. "And how do we know if the book is true or not?"  
"The last of the Brunnen G." said Giles. "Kai, the man you met last night, I have to meet him and find out if he's the genuine article. If he is, it could change the way we look at the world entirely."  
"Right." said Buffy, trying to cope with this information.   
"So we find him again." said Xander. "What if he attacks us? How do we kill him."  
"It sounds difficult to believe," said Giles, "but he can't be killed, according to this. He's survived whole planets exploding under his feet. But he isn't a demon, and his intentions are not malevolent...."  
The library doors flew open, and in walked the Xev, Stan and Kai, who held a very happy 790 under his left arm.  
"Are you Giles?" asked Kai. Giles nodded. Xev and Stan looked at each other, disappointed with the appearance of the man they had likened to His Shadow.  
"Who are you?" asked Giles, knowing the answer. Kai opened his mouth to speak.  
"He is Kai, last of the Brunnen G, etcetera." came a voice from behind them, interrupting.   
"Spike!" exclaimed Giles. "What are you doing here?"  
"I came to see how my new friends were settling in." said Spike. "Or perhaps, not so new friends, I should say."  
"What are you talking about?" Stan asked. "We only just met you."  
"Yeah, Spike." agreed Xev. Spike just grinned more widely, and walked to Giles, who backed away from him, clutching a cross and holding it up to ward off Spike.  
"How long have you known me, Giles?" he asked.  
"About 2 years I think."   
"Ah yes, but how long have I been on this planet?"  
"Er.. a hundred years, more or less." Giles said.  
"And what would you say if I were to tell you that I'd known these people before my time as a vampire?"  
"I'd say that was very unlikely." said Giles. "I know your history - your life before becoming a vampire had no mention of heading off into the skies - nor has your life as a vampire."  
"You forget Giles, that I am not William. He died, and the demon - me - that took his body took his memories, his life. Only I was not an ordinary demon, like most that existed in the dimension where I found myself. I am quite different. And in the time before, I did know these people."  
"Who were you?" asked Kai.  
"Oh, surely you can guess that." Spike's voice was now different, it had taken on a tone that was smoother, a different accent, and horribly familiar to Stan, Xev and Kai. The others just thought that it really, really didn't suit him.  
"Oh no." said Stan. "This isn't good."  
"I should have guessed." muttered Xev.   
"Spike, why are you talking weirdly?" asked Willow.  
"He is not Spike." Kai told her. "He is Prince."  
"No." said Spike. "I am both. I am Prince, but here they know me as Spike. It is more appropriate really, after all, after Fire was destroyed, there wasn't much left for me to be Prince of."  
"That was all Xev's fault!" accused 790. "And Stan too. Kill them, Prince!"  
"I'm guessing the robot doesn't like you guys." said Xander.  
"Oh, it likes one of us." said Xev with a smirk.  
"Yes I do!" 790 said gleefully. "The gorgeous, wonderful, amazing -"  
"The dead guy." Stan interrupted.  
"That is beside the point." said Kai. "Prince, what do you want here?"  
"The same thing I always... oh, no, wait - the planet Water is long gone." said Spike. "But like the planet Fire, the planet Water had a ruler of sorts. That is who I want destroyed now."  
"Who is it?" asked Xev. Spike stepped close, and ran a finger softly down her cheek. Yes, this did appear to be Prince.  
"Now why would I tell you something like that?" he said to her. "So you can run to protect this person, not giving me a chance? No, no, Xev." he took a seat, his eyes not leaving Xevs. Spike regained his usual voice. "I'm going to make a game of this."  
"Tell me who it is Spike." said Buffy, leaning over Spike with a stake in her right hand. Spike shook his head.  
"No." he said. "But feel free to stake me, please." Buffy's arm tensed, but Kai grabbed her hand before she could make a move.  
"Don't." Kai told her. Spike got up.  
"Good advice." he said. "Nice to see you remember some things. I haven't died in a long while, but I'm still Prince, and I'll still come back every time - wherever and as whoever I like." The door closed behind him, and several of the group let out sighs of relief. 


	2. Prince Charming

Author:Sacrificial Angel   
Email: sunless_undead@hotmail.com  
Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/cof_girl  
Title: The Lexx's Visit to Sunnydale  
Rating: PG13  
Archiving: Imajica's page, anyone else, please tell me before using it  
Disclaimer: Paul Donovan, Jeffrey Hirschfield and Lex Giggerhof own the Lexx universe, characters, etc. Joss Whedon owns the Buffy universe, characters, etc. No profit is made from my stories, and sueing me is a waste of time because I have about 10p to my name. Kai will be mine someday... but that's a whole different issue.  
  
The Lexx's Visit to Sunnydale   
  
Prince Charming  
  
"That Spike." said Xander. "He's just full of surprises isn't he?"  
"That is Prince's way." said Kai. "He uses surprise to his advantage."  
"Look, will you stop calling him Prince?" Xander said, annoyed, "He's not a Prince, he's an English vampire who's a bit too fond of his bleach. Oh, and speaking of hair, what's the deal with yours? You needed a couple of extra inches to join the basketball team?"  
"At least Kai doesn't need to compensate for an extremely boring personality and physical appearance by wearing every colour of the rainbow on his shirt." said 790 bitterly. "I suppose it's meant to look exciting and vibrant. Well, it doesn't. On you it looks ugly. And for your information, Kai has the most perfect hair in the two universes - and he has all the inches I need!"  
"Hey!" said Xander. "Shut up, robot."  
"Oh yeah." said Stan. "That'll work."  
"It insulted me!" Xander protested.  
"Now you know how we feel." muttered Stan.  
"Well," said Xev, "you insulted its one true love."  
"Switch it off then." said Xander.  
"No." said Kai. "There is no switch, and it is unsafe to power 790 down when we are not on board the Lexx."  
"Oh, Kai, you do love me!" 790 exclaimed. "You wouldn't let them kill me!"  
"You have proved a useful crew member." said Kai. "As you may be useful in the future, I think it would be unwise to shut you down permanently."  
"Well it must be nice to have someone so in love with you." said Willow. "Even if it is just a robot."  
"It is not." said Kai, expressionless. "I do not feel."  
"He's dead." pointed out Xev.  
"But still..." said Buffy. "all the dead people I've seen still have feelings."  
"But none of those were really dead." said Willow. "Demons - yes, but still basically alive... or... undead."  
"Like Spike." said Xander. "Or maybe not. This is confusing. He is still a vampire isn't he?"  
"Yes." said Kai.  
"Then how do we know he can still come back when he dies?" Xev asked. "He may still think he can, but in this body, in this world, he might die in the usual way."  
"We do not know." said Kai. Then Stan spoke up.  
"Hold on." he said. "Isn't our first priority to destroy the Slayer and kill this 'Shadow'ish Giles guy? To prevent this world becoming another Cluster?" Giles's face fell. Buffy looked angry.  
"That was our intention." said Kai. "But we do not know the nature of Giles, or of the council of watchers. They may be nothing like his Shadow."  
"Look," said Giles, "from what I've read already, I can safely assure you that I am nothing like his Shadow. I'm not evil, and the council of watchers is *nothing* like the Divine Order. We fight demons, we have no control over humans and our only purpose is to protect innocent people." Xev frowned.  
"How do we know he's telling the truth?" she asked.  
"We don't!" said Stan, worried and confused.   
"But we have one indicator that he fights for good." said Kai. "He is an enemy of Prince." Xev and Stan looked at each other - the dead guy had a point. "I suggest that we work together for the time being."  
"Good." said Giles. "In the case, I think we should get back to researching this Prince character, who is now Spike." He, Willow and Buffy gathered around the book."  
"And us?" asked Stan.  
"I will look for Spike." said Kai.  
"You, me and 790 will look for somewhere to live." said Xev. Xander heard this and stood up.  
"I know just the place." he said, and they went their separate ways, 790 composing mournful poetry about being once again separated from the man it loved.  
  
As they walked to Xander's basement, Stan held the unhappy 790. Xander told them a little about the not-so-demonic side of Sunnydale, but felt a little flustered with the affection Xev was showing him.  
"When is Kai coming back?" asked 790. "Why couldn't he take me with him?"  
"Because you get in the way." said Xander, who had decided he didn't like 790 after the incident in the library. "Stupid robot."  
"Don't listen to 790." said Xev. "He's obsessed with Kai. He had part of the love slave programming intended for me, he can't help the way he feels."  
"Love slave?" asked Xander.  
"Yes." she said. "I was to be transformed into a love slave for not performing my wifely duties. My body was changed, but my mind was not."  
"Not to mention that she is now half vicious brain-eating lizard." added 790. Xander's eyes widened. Ok, so he could accept the love slave bit, it wasn't too hard to believe, what with Xev's body and 790's mind being the way they were. But a brain eating lizard?  
"Is it true?" he asked, afraid.  
"I am part cluster lizard." she admitted. "But I have never eaten anyone's brain."  
"That doesn't mean she wont." said 790, but this did little to taint Xander's relief.  
"Well believe me, if you're looking for brains, you've picked the wrong guy." said Xander. "Ask around, its really not worth the effort."  
"Don't worry Xander." she said, smiling. "Its not your brain I'm interested in." Xander went bright red and was unable to stop grinning all the way home. Stanley scowled, trying not to look at either of them. Surely Xev needed someone a little more... mature than that guy.  
  
"Prince." said Kai at the door of the crypt. It was the broad daylight of the afternoon now, and the vampire known as Spike was inside watching tv.  
"Hi Kai." he said, in his usual somewhat over the top English accent. "What are you after then?"  
"I want to know who it is you want destroyed, and why."  
"Well the first - I'm not telling." he said, not turning or taking his eyes off the tv. "And the second, because this person ruled the Water planet, and as such is my mortal enemy. Simple, really. And by the way, its Spike now, I haven't been called Prince in over a century." he turned to Kai, grinning. "Get with the times, dead man."  
"Do you seek to destroy the Slayer, Spike?" asked Kai, persisting in finding out who this person was.  
"Yeah, course I do." said Spike. "Because she's the Slayer, and I'm a vampire. I've killed two Slayers, and I'm working on my third, most vampires don't survive their first confrontation with one."  
"Was she the ruler of Water?"  
"Look mate," said Spike, "Water is *purity*. Do you honestly believe that anyone going by the name of 'Slayer' could hold a claim to that? I mean, she's a killer, she's impure. Sure, she claims she does it for good, but look at it from another point of view. She kills off other races just because they happen to be higher in the food chain. I mean, killing is killing, at least we're honest about it. She trusses herself up as some fighter of "demons" as she calls us and feigns innocence even as she chomps down a dinner of something else lower in the food chain than her. What a bloody hypocrite! And let me tell you, she's impure in other ways too - just ask Angel, Riley, Parker -"  
"Why do you wish to kill her in particular then?" Kai interrupted. "When you can survive from any human?"  
"Because," said Spike, "Slayers blood is always sweeter. I've developed a taste for it. You should try it sometime."  
"I do not drink... blood." said Kai. Spike laughed loudly.  
"Oh, that's a classic." he said. "Bela Lugosi in reverse."  
"Who is that?" asked Kai.  
"Ah forget it." said Spike. "You've missed quite a lot in the 100 years you were frozen. Anyway, as I was saying... oh yeah, the Slayer. She's not pure and virtuous, no matter what she says. She's a fucking killer. She's like you when you were an assassin, nearer to evil really. And not your honest and wholesome kind of evil either, she pretends she's good. Don't get too closed-minded - just because she's against me doesn't automatically make her good. You'd better not be just slow to kill her because you like her though."  
"I do not like."  
"Yeah, yeah, so you keep saying. But technically, I'm dead, and I still like things... especially things that look like her. Or do you only have eyes for 790?"  
"You are Undead." said Kai. "But it will not be long before you are dead." Kai held up his wrist.  
"Oooh," said Spike, "that never loses its threatening edge, no matter how often I hear it. But you might want to try something wooden and pointy, that tends to kill better."  
"There are other ways." said Kai, and fired his brace, neatly decapitating Spike, who turned to black dust and disappeared among the dirt on the floor of the crypt. Then his words came back to Kai, all that Spike had said, he considered. The worst case would be Prince returning in an even more dangerous form and the Slayer turning out to be evil and trying to harm Stan and Xev. But it was hard for a long dead, emotionless assassin to discern whether or not Buffy was good.   
  
Kai walked along the still sunlit streets, back to the library. He studied his wrist brace closely for a moment as he walked - it was a remarkable piece of technology. It could prove exceptionally useful in a town like this.  
"Giles." said Kai at the library door. "Where are the others?"  
"They went to Xander's house, I think." said Giles, still reading the book. "My word, did this really happen? When you visited the memory chambers on Brunnis?" Kai leant over Giles's shoulder and read.  
"Yep, it's all there." he said. "That's exactly how it happened."  
"And Xev's dream was for you to be alive?" Kai nodded.  
"It was an interesting experience." he said. "Well, I can't stay here all day, I'm going to find Stan and Xev."  
"Ok, bye Kai." said Giles, continuing in his reading.  
  
Kai walked to Xander's house, then entered the low window into the basement. Yes, Stan, Xander and Xev were all here. Stan in a black chair watching tv, while Xev flirted mercilessly with Xander on the sofa. Kai raised an eyebrow, before dropping to the floor.  
"Hi again." said Kai, crossing the room and sitting deliberately between Xev and Xander. 790, from under a few blankets in the corner, called out to Kai in a muffled way. Kai smiled.  
"Nice to see someone noticed my absence." he commented.  
"Did you get Spike?" Xander asked.   
"Yes." said Kai. "Decapitated." he leant back on the couch. "Now up you get Xander, we could do with some tea."  
"Fine." said Xander. "Hey wait - you can't drink tea."  
"My friends can." said Kai, smiling at Xev.  
"That would be nice, Xander." said Xev, then smiled at Kai. Kai smiled back. A thought came to her... there was something unusual about his smile. Wait - it was the smile itself that was strange, Kai didn't smile!  
"Kai... are you alright?" she asked tentatively.  
"I..." said Kai, "I don't know."  
"There's something strange -" said Xev.  
"I know." said Kai. "Something very strange. I think its something in the atmosphere here, I feel as if I am... alive!"  
"Alive?" Stan turned, almost falling out of his chair in shock. Xev's jaw dropped. Xander looked up from the kettle he was filling at the sink on the other side of the room.  
"So that'll be three teas then."  
"Thanks." said Kai to Xander.  
"Kai, you're really alive?" asked Xev.  
"I am." he said. "I know it sounds impossible, but you must believe it. The air here breathes life, it has revived me - I know how much you wanted this, Xev."  
"Of course I want it!" she said. "Kai... I love you, you have been my best friend for so long, but you were never alive to love me in return." Xander, filling the cups, frowned. Typical, as soon as he finds a woman who's interested, her dead friend wakes up and takes her instead. He brought the tea over and then some milk and sugar. Kai sipped contentedly, and Xev also enjoyed this tea, which she had never before tasted. Stan found it a little less enjoyable. So Kai was alive. There goes any chance he ever had with Xev, which he realised hadn't been the biggest chance, but still... He was distracted from his thoughts by 790 yelling out at Xev, who had put an arm around Kai and leant on his shoulder.   
"Kai, this is so amazing." said Xev, looking into his eyes. "We can really be together now! If that's what you want?"  
"Nothing would make me happier, Xev my love." he said. "Would you like to walk with me?" Xev nodded. They went out, leaving Stan and Xander to bury the loud complaints of 790 under more cushions and blankets. Stan frowned. There was something definitely not right about this. Xander felt the same, as he wondered what exactly it was about the dark, mysterious and dead type that girls went for.  
  
"Look at the stars Xev." he said, looking up at the sky which was turning dark.  
"It is a sight I am used to." she replied. "But they are still always beautiful."  
"Xev, you are more beautiful to me than any star." Kai told her, and she smiled. "But it is a shame we have to be together in such troubled circumstances."  
"Troubled how?" asked Xev. "Prince - Spike is dead, you are with me, I can't see anything wrong."  
"There is the matter of the Slayer." he said. "And her companions."  
"But they're not evil are they?" she asked. "They were enemies of Prince, you said it yourself, doesn't that make them on our side?"  
"Not exactly." said Kai. "The Slayer disliked Spike because he was a vampire, not because of who he was. If he had been human, this would be a very different story. Besides, we can't ignore the similarities they have to the Divine Order, can we? And I have learned of her best friend's interest in the dark arts of magic."  
"Really?" asked Xev. "Oh Kai, we'll have to do something."  
"Yes." said Kai. "But not right now. I want to be with you for now, Xev."  
  
Xev woke up in the morning, in Kai's arms. They had stayed up late together, and when they others slept, they had crept away to the school library again - she knew no other private place. Kai had been ecstatic, as had Xev, and they had slept (or not slept) together between shelves of books. Now they woke to hear the sound of a school bell, although they didn't know what it was. Xev could hear footsteps though, and put on her clothes, as did Kai. Fortunately Giles didn't walk in until they were both fully dressed.  
"What are you two doing here?" Giles asked, confused as to why they were here so early.  
"We stayed here because there was no room in Xander's basement." said Xev, unconvincingly. Giles frowned.  
"You didn't... oh god, you did. In my library? People have to work here, people need books... I can't believe... wait a minute, Kai - aren't you dead?"  
"I was." said Kai. "And now I'm alive."  
"It's this planets atmosphere." said Xev. "Or something like that, we don't know exactly what, but he is definitely alive."  
"Right." said Giles. Kai looked at Xev and made a gesture with his wrist towards Giles. Xev looked worried.  
"No, we can't do that yet," she whispered, "we don't know his nature truly, we cant do this until we're sure."  
"You're not sure?" asked Kai. "How can you be unsure? Do you want to waste this chance?" Giles didn't know exactly what they were talking about, but had a bad feeling about it all. He looked up at Kai, seconds before Kai lifted his wrist and shot his brace at him, missing his left shoulder by an inch.  
"What's going on?" Giles was stunned.   
"Bugger." said Kai. "Stupid brace, what kind of guy wants a weapon like this anyway? I mean, can't I have something more substantial?"   
"Kai?" Xev was confused. "You missed... how come?"  
"Come off it Xev," he said, "I'm not bleeding *perfect* you know, just let me have another shot. Or an axe, maybe."  
"A what?" she was taken aback. "Kai, you've had your brace for 6000 years, why do you want a new weapon now? And what was that word you said, is it Brunnen G?"  
"No." said Giles. "It's English. Actual English, not American or whatever variant you speak on other planets. What I want to know is how Kai knows it."  
"That's a good question." said Xev, looking at Kai. Kai rolled his eyes.  
"Oh please," he said, "it didn't take Kai this long to figure it out, did it? You must know who I am." Giles shook his head, but Xev understood immediately, having seen this happen before.  
"Prince." she said. He smiled at her.  
"The one and only." he replied. 


	3. Old Friends

Author:Sacrificial Angel   
Email: sunless_undead@hotmail.com  
Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/cof_girl  
Title: The Lexx's Visit to Sunnydale  
Rating: PG13  
Archiving: Imajica's page, anyone else, please tell me before using it  
Disclaimer: Paul Donovan, Jeffrey Hirschfield and Lex Giggerhof own the Lexx universe, characters, etc. Joss Whedon owns the Buffy universe, characters, etc. No profit is made from my stories, and sueing me is a waste of time because I have about 10p to my name. Kai will be mine someday... but that's a whole different issue.  
  
The Lexx's Visit to Sunnydale   
  
Old Friends  
  
Kai remained in the crypt where he had sat unmoving all night. It had occurred to him how fitting a place this was for him, but it seemed like Prince was not going to return here. He stood up and turned to walk out, heading back to the library.   
  
"Kai!" called Xev, and she ran to him, throwing her arms around his cold, dead shoulders in tears. Kai had been unaware of the chaos that had ensued in his absence, and was naturally somewhat surprised at Xev's reaction to seeing him. She stood back after a minute.  
"What is it?" asked Kai, but then he saw himself, or his exact double, sitting across the library from him and looking very pleased with himself. "Prince." he said, his expression seeming to hold an eerie trace of amusement.  
"Welcome back, Kai." he said. "Thanks for the body by the way, mate."  
"I should have known." said Xev, shaking her head. "I knew it was too good to be true... but I wanted to believe so badly."  
"Xev, you were wonderful." said Prince. "I've half a mind to visit this Cluster and get a love slave myself if they're all this good." Kai looked at Prince questioningly. "Kai, you missed something quite important last night. Xev and I had an intimate moment... or rather, you and Xev did, it's all very complicated. Still, it doesn't matter, I enjoyed it. And so did Xev, even though she'd hate to admit it." Giles walked back into the library and saw the real Kai, then turned to Prince.  
"So it is true." he said. "Spike, you truly are a monster. I mean, I've seen evil, but..." Prince, still in Kai's form, grinned.   
"Really?" he asked, standing up. "How evil on a scale of one to ten would you say I am? With one being not evil at all, and ten being... Angelus." Giles glared at him darkly, not replying. Xev suspected that this was a personal matter to him. Prince/Spike/Kai raised his eyebrows. "Nine, maybe? Or eight? I really can't match that whole Miss Calendar thing, can I?" Giles started towards him in a blind fury, and Prince calmly raised his wrist, releasing a well aimed shot at Giles, which was instantly knocked out of the air by Kai's own brace. Prince turned to Kai.  
"Now that's what I call reflexes!" he said. "I've been practising all morning and I still can't get it that good. Still, you've had 2000 years of practise."  
"Which gives me a considerable advantage." added Kai, before immediately firing again at Prince. He disappeared. In a second he returned at the door, in his original "Prince" form. He walked to Xev.  
"Be honest." he said. "You enjoyed last night just as much as I did." Xev shook her head. She didn't feel so strongly about it all as Giles seemed to, but she hadn't liked the betrayal.  
"I enjoyed it because I thought of Kai." she said. "It is not something I would have done had I known who you really were."  
"I know." said Prince. "But you'll think of me, when you look up at the stars." Xev looked at him coldly before storming out of the library. Kai stayed.  
"You have a gift for angering people." he said to Prince.  
"Yes," said Prince, "but you seem forever beyond my reach with that. Quite annoying, really. I mean, I steal your body, you don't care. I sleep with the woman who loves you, you don't care. You probably don't even care that I killed Stan."  
"I would have stopped that from happening if I had been there." said Kai. "If you killed Stan, who has the key?"  
"I do." said Prince. "Bet you didn't expect that."  
"If you had the key you would have passed it on at death." Kai pointed out. "Who has the key?"  
"Oh, for crying out loud, Stan has the key!" Prince was exasperated. "He's alive and kicking you idiot."  
"Where is he?" asked Kai.  
"Xander's basement, probably." Prince said, his temper seeming to vanish in the odd way it did sometimes. "Well I can't stay here all day, I'm off for a nice walk in the broad daylight, something I've not done in quite a long time. Bye, Kai."  
"Where is that?" Kai asked Prince as he walked away, but received no answer. Kai turned to Giles, who took out a pen and paper to write directions.  
  
"Hello, Slayer." said Prince, meeting Buffy on the street. She had no idea who he was, and frowned.  
"Who are you?" she asked. Prince kept an entirely straight face although he felt like laughing at the fact that she didn't recognise her arch-enemy. "Tell me who you are and how you know who I am." she said, defensive. "You wouldn't call me Slayer if you weren't a demon."  
"I'm human, Slayer." he said. "A friend of Angel's as it so happens. Funny story about when we first met, it was a hot place... nah, it doesn't matter."  
"Right." she said. "So you know Angel? Then chances are you've heard of Spike."  
"Oh, yes." he said. "I remember him - the one people call 'the big bad', right? Killed two slayers?"  
"You sound like an admirer." Buffy jibed. "Just don't let him hear you talk like that, his ego's already bigger than this State." Prince shrugged.  
"Well don't underestimate him." said Prince. "By all accounts he's strong, fearless, devastatingly handsome and very skilled in combat. He could have you for breakfast, my little Slayer."  
"Hey!" she said. "He could not! I'm a match for him any day."  
"Ok, ok, I get it." he said. "You're the Slayer, and I suppose when you come down to it he is just a vampire."  
"Well..." said Buffy, "that's what I thought. But now all of a sudden there's these space aliens from nowhere calling him "Prince", and he does a weird voice thing. And then, one of the aliens turns out to be this kind of un-stakeable vampire... god, things have been weird recently."  
"Apparently so." he said. "So where are you going now?"  
"Xander's basement." she said. "That's where the aliens are, actually."  
"Do you think I could see them?" he asked. "If it wouldn't bother them, of course."  
"Oh, sure, come with me." she said.  
They went to Xander's house, and then down the stairs into the basement. Stan had his back turned to them, watching TV. Willow and Xander faced them, sitting on the sofa.  
"Hey Buffy." said Xander. "Who's this?"  
"Some friend of Angel's who wanted to see the aliens." said Buffy. Prince smiled at them. "One of them's there, but where are the other two?"  
"Oh, Xev and Kai... went off together. All of a sudden dead guy decides to be alive, and steals the girl from right under my nose."  
"Our noses." said Stan, not turning in his chair to face them.   
"Impressive, wasn't it?" Prince said, grinning. "Definitely one of my more enjoyable lives." Stan leapt up at the familiar voice, and turned, pointing an accusative finger at him.  
"You!" he exclaimed. "You're back! Help, someone, get Kai or something."  
"Stanley." called Prince in reply. "How's it going? Neck feeling a little better I hope?"  
"Shut up Prince!" Stan shouted. "Or Spike, or whatever you're called now."  
"Last time I checked, you were calling me Kai..." said Prince, smiling smugly as he imitated Kai's voice perfectly - "I feel as if I'm... alive!" Xander gasped.  
"That's what the dead guy said!" he exclaimed.  
"No, you stupid bint." said Prince in his 'Spike' voice. "That's what I said, not Kai."  
"It's Spike!" exclaimed Buffy. "He can really come back from the dead?"  
"Well observed, Slayer." he said. "Its an ability I've had for a while... forever, I think."  
"Great." she said. "Well I'm still up for a little one on one. I'll kill you so you can never come back."  
"Not in here!" shouted Xander. "Please, I have to live here, I don't want a bed of rubble if that's ok with you two?"  
"Fine." said Prince. "We'll take it outside."  
"I'm going back to find Xev." said Stan, hurrying to the door. "And Kai, the real Kai."  
"See you later, Stan." said Prince. Willow smiled a goodbye to them all, and then turned back to talking to Xander. The door slammed. Then suddenly there was a knocking at the basement window.   
"Let me in!" called Xev. Xander hurried to open the window, letting her in. She jumped down, and smiled at him brightly, making him blush again. Willow glanced between them, then rolled her eyes.  
"Ok, ok, I'm leaving." she said. Neither of them paid much attention to this, so she left the basement.  
"Xev, Kai wasn't Kai." said Xander. "It was Spike, he stole his body."  
"I know." said Xev. "I was stupid to believe it could be true. I came because I can trust you, Xander, I know you're what you say are." Xander shrugged.  
"You trust me. Great, just like every other girl I know. You trust me and you like me as a... brother, or a friend. Don't think I've not heard it before."  
"What?" Xev asked. "I didn't say that. I don't think of you as my brother at all. In fact, its impossible, I never knew any of my family."  
"That's a shame." said Xander. "I suppose you'll want to sit here and talk all about it with your new trusted friend then?"  
"No." said Xev. "Xander, don't you like me now? I'm sorry about what happened with Prince, but you have to understand... I've been trapped in space for so long with just Kai and Stan. Kai has obviously been the only object of my affections for all this time, but I know now that he can't really be alive again. And I need someone who is alive." Xander blinked.   
"I do like you." he said. "Really I do, and the whole Kai - Prince thing, I don't mind that."  
"You make me happy." said Xev, and then she kissed him.  
  
Kai was wandering around the streets, unable to make sense of the directions Giles had given him. The problem was, he couldn't make out the handwriting. Suddenly a face came out of the darkness.  
"You look a little lost." said the man. He was the same height as Kai, dressed in black with a long coat, with light brown hair.  
"Do you know where to find Xander's basement?" asked Kai. The man shrugged.  
"Maybe I do." he said. "That doesn't mean I'm going to tell you though. You don't look like you're likely to be one of her classmates, and I don't usually tell demons where they can find friends of mine."  
"I am not a demon." said Kai. "I am Kai, last of the Brunnen G. Tell me where it is."  
"I'm Angel." said the man. "And you don't seem to have a heartbeat my friend, so..." he pulled out the stake from under his coat, "no deal."   
"The dead do not have any heartbeat." said Kai, ignoring the piece of wood.  
"Oh, you're dead?" asked Angel. "What a coincidence - me too." he lunged forwards. Kai looked down at his chest, which now had a stake lodged in the heart area.  
"You're the second person to do that in the few days I have been on this planet." said Kai.   
"Great." said Angel. "Just when you think you've got the dead pretty much figured out, something like this happens. Why is it you want to find Xander anyway, of all people?"  
"People I know are staying with him." said Kai. "Stanley and Xev. They are in danger from Prince."  
"Prince?" said Angel. "I don't know any Prince. There's still absolutely no reason why I should help you." Kai pulled the stake from his chest and held it to Angels. "Go on then, kill me. At least then I'll be free of this damned existence."  
"Tell me where I can find them." said Kai. "Prince is dangerous, and needs to be stopped. He has taken on a new form here, and he calls himself Spike."  
"Spike? Oh, right, you should have said." Angel pushed the stake away. "Come on, I'll show you where to find them. I'm headed that way myself." They walked, and then footsteps could be heard approaching. Stan ran into them.   
"Help!" he cried. "This place is full of... weird people. Kai, are you really you?"  
"Yes." said Kai.   
"Who's the other guy?" Stan asked, looking at Angel.  
"Angel." he said. "And you are?"  
"Stanley Tweedle, captain of the Lexx." he said, shaking Angels hand. "I'm lost here, do you know how I can get back? I haven't seen Xev since last night. And why is this place full of psychos?"  
"You're on a hell mouth." said Angel. "Come on, we're going to Xander's basement just now, I have some important news for them all."  
  
As they approached Xander's house, Angel caught sight of Buffy fighting a man. He felt an urge to go and help her, but then with a sudden movement of her axe, she removed the head from his body.   
"Buffy!" called Angel. Buffy ran over to them, smiling.  
"Hi Angel." she said. "He's dead just now, but this happened before today, he keeps coming back." Suddenly Spike appeared behind Angel.  
"Boo!" he said, effectively making them all jump.   
"Spike." said Angel. "What's going on?" Spike smiled.  
"Well well well." he said looking at them. "Night of the living dead, isnt it?"   
"Forget it." Angel walked to the door of Xander's house and knocked. Sounds could be heard from inside, but noone answered the door. Kai broke the door down.  
"Hey!" shouted Xander, wrapped up in a duvet on his bed. An exceptionally lumpy duvet.  
"Xander?" asked Angel. "What's going on here?" Xev reluctantly showed her face.  
"Xev!" Stanley and Spike called out in unison.  
"Be quiet." she said, moodily. "I was trying to sleep."  
"I can't believe it." said Spike. "Of all the people... Xander? Honestly, anything with a pulse..."  
"Or without." said Stanley, bitterly. "Except me for some reason."  
"I should think that reason is obvious to everyone." said Spike, looking at Stanley. Angel shook his head.  
"Look, stop this now, it's not important. I have news. The army guys that have been going about for the last few months here, they're called the initiative, and they seem to have some link to the local college."  
"Oh yeah." said Spike. "Miss Walsh, she's the leader. Any other news, preferably something we don't already know?" Angel frowned.  
"How did you know?" he asked. Spike grinned.   
"I never forget a soul." he said. "Now there's evil for you, a woman toying with the very fabric of life and death. Another soul sent here when you destroyed Fire, Stan. I think you know this one though... in her last life she lived in your Cluster."  
"Oh that helps." said Stan, sarcastically. "Not like there were millions of people there or anything, should be pretty easy to recognise her."  
"She's changed a lot." said Spike. "For a start, the female-ness is a new development. But her personality, her soul, will never change, and you do know her. Especially you, Kai."  
"We shall see." said Kai, and they headed off to the Initiative.  
  
They managed to break into the initiative, through a tunnel that had been left when it had been built. They were low down in the initiative here, but could hear voices above them. Professor Walsh was talking to the military clad young men in front of her. Spike grinned, then ran up, causing them all to jump.   
"Evening, Miss Walsh." he said, his face contorting to the demonic attack face. Her eyes widened.  
"It's an HST!" she called. "A vampire, capture him, but don't kill him." Several of the soldiers ran to arrest Spike, who fought back well, but was eventually caught between three young men.  
"Miss Walsh, would you please tell them to let me go?" It was the voice usually associated with Prince. Professor Walsh, however, didn't recognise it.  
"I will do no such thing." she said. "You are a valuable specimen for study."  
"Hardly valuable if killing me should cause you to lose your own life," he threatened, "Bio-visir." Professor Walsh blinked, and walked over to him.  
"Let go of me." said Spike, and Professor Walsh nodded to them. They did so. Spike stood alone.  
"How... where did you hear that word?" she asked, still unable to place the hauntingly familiar voice.  
"From you." said Spike. "Now tell your soldier boys to get out of here."  
"I don't care if you know who I once was," she said, "but I will not be ordered around by anyone in my Initiative. Understood?" Spike glared at her.  
"Bio-visir, you will OBEY YOUR PRINCE!" he demanded. Professor Walsh stumbled backwards in shock.   
"Leave, all of you, leave now!" she called to the soldiers, who all immediately ran away... except for one.  
"No." said the last remaining man. "I'm not going to stand for you being pushed around by some dumb HST."  
"Look Riley, you're in way over your head here. Just go." Riley sulkily walked down the stairs, but bumped into Kai.  
"Argh!" he called out. "Another HST! Prepare to die, demon!" He high-kicked Kai, bringing him to the floor. Kai sat up and shot Riley with his brace, which didn't kill him instantly, but left him bleeding slowly to death. Then he went up to where Prince and Professor Walsh stood.  
"Kai." said Professor Walsh. "My creation. You're here? Its a miracle!"  
Kai looked Professor Walsh up and down. There was only one person this could be.  
"Mantrid." said Kai. 


	4. Restoring the Balance

Author:Sacrificial Angel   
Email: sunless_undead@hotmail.com  
Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/cof_girl  
Title: The Lexx's Visit to Sunnydale  
Rating: PG13  
Archiving: Imajica's page, anyone else, please tell me before using it  
Disclaimer: Paul Donovan, Jeffrey Hirschfield and Lex Giggerhof own the Lexx universe, characters, etc. Joss Whedon owns the Buffy universe, characters, etc. No profit is made from my stories, and sueing me is a waste of time because I have about 10p to my name. Kai will be mine someday... but that's a whole different issue.  
  
The Lexx's Visit to Sunnydale   
  
Restoring the Balance  
  
"Mantrid!" exclaimed Stan. "How did Mantrid get here?! This just isn't fair."  
"I expect that Mantrid was sent here with the destruction of Fire." said Kai.  
"Yes, and I've been very busy here." she said. "All kinds of stuff."  
"Oh, continuing your work then?" said Spike. "How nice that you turned against the race I am now part of."  
"I didn't know." she said, worried. She had known Prince's power on Fire and had been a servant to him for sometime. But she had always been in her old form as Mantrid, on earth through some strange twist in fate she had turned out female. "Prince, I did not know. Forgive me."  
"It's Spike now." he said. "And don't think I care about killing other vampires and demons, that can't be helped. So far as killing me goes though, you don't do that. I do not give you permission."  
"Okay." said Buffy, who followed up to the main platform with all the others. "I for one would really like to know what's going on here. Professor Walsh?"  
"Buffy Summers." she said. "This is the Initiative. These people know me from a previous life in which I was a bio-visir, and I made Kai what he is today."  
"A walking corpse." said Kai. "An assassin who killed thousands in the service of His Shadow, before I regained my memory and my free will."  
"You make it sound so negative." said Professor Walsh.  
"Look, Mantrid, Walsh, whatever." said Spike. "Don't try to kid yourself - it was negative. Why do you think you weren't on Water? Unpaid inland revenue bills?" Professor Walsh scowled at the floor. It was clear she was unhappy about being proved wrong, but she didn't want to get on Spike's bad side. "Now, I'm getting bored, and due to being a vampire - thirsty. If you have no more people around here I'm leaving."  
"There was Riley..." said Professor Walsh. "He was human, even after my work on him."  
"You WORKED on Riley?" Buffy seemed surprised, but strangely the upsetness only came with difficulty.  
"Yes." she said. "Nothing too out of the ordinary happened so far though."  
"And now he's dead." said Spike. "Quelle domage. Well, if that's everything, I'm off to feed. Slayer, don't look so jumpy, I'm coming back for you later." Spike walked out. The others were left with little to say, and decided to leave too. Angel picked up Riley's body and threw it in the dumpster as they left, then out of habit licked his fingers. Slightly sour, but still blood.   
  
For the first time in ages, Buffy felt afraid for her life. She had fought Spike today, killed him a few times (and she suspected he had let her win once or twice), and she knew how dangerous he was. All it took was one slip on her part and she was gone for good. Before today she had always thought herself and Spike to be more or less evenly matched - but returning from the dead? That wasn't right. It seemed there was something unbalanced about the whole matter. Willow walked up to Buffy.  
"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked. Buffy shook her head.  
"Nothing." she said. "I'm just tired, I guess. I've been fighting Spike all day, it's hopeless."  
"Never give up hope." said Willow, then gave her a hug and went to walk home. Buffy was going to go home herself, but then didn't like the idea. She walked to Xander's with the others and made her mind up to protect these people - hoping that Spike wouldn't bother with any of the others tonight. She went in, seeing Xander and Xev were now out of bed and watching tv, sitting very closely together on the couch.  
"Hi guys." she said, going down the stairs with Stan, Kai and Angel behind her. Xev glanced at Angel, but then away. He was very attractive, but his mind seemed to be on other things, and besides, she had a man for just now.  
"Hi," said Xander, "you all staying here tonight? There are some spare blankets and pillows over in that corner, but I don't suggest you take them until you really need them."  
"Thanks." said Stan and Buffy.  
"I'll be fine without." said Angel. "There's only three blankets there, I don't really need them that much."  
"Take a blanket." said Kai. "I have not slept for 6000 years." Angel considered.  
"Ok then." he agreed. He, Stan and Buffy lifted a blanket and pillow from the heap, leaving 790 uncovered.  
"Kai!" he called out. "I've thought about you all the time you were away."  
"What is this?" asked Angel, picking up 790.  
"Yeuch!" exclaimed 790. "Put me down you hideous being!" Angel's face fell, and Kai took the robot head away from him, sitting down in the corner with him.  
"Be quiet 790." he said.  
"That," said Xander, "is the world's most stupid and deluded robot head." 790 was about to retort, but then remembered that Kai had asked him to be silent. Then Kai walked out, leaving 790 on the ground outside the house.  
"I'll be back soon." he told the robot head, which was upset about being left yet again. The others cuddled up to sleep for the night, Xander and Xev again took the bed, Stan the couch, and Buffy and Angel lay on the floor. They slept until the early afternoon.  
  
"Hello Kai." said Spike, sitting in his crypt again. "What can I do for you? Come to ask about who it is I'm trying to destroy again?"   
"No." said Kai.  
"Why not?" asked Spike. "You give up that easily?"  
"I did not give up." said Kai. "I simply do not believe that you know who it is yourself."  
"You're suggesting I don't know my own arch rival?" asked Spike. No reply came from Kai. "Well... you're right, actually. I don't know. All I know is that it's not Buffy. Really, she could be anywhere on earth, but I have forever to look. And I'll kill Buffy first, it's only a matter of time before she gets weak or careless."  
"That is true." said Kai, then turned to walk out. Spike waited until Kai had gone and then headed out himself. There were still a few hours until sunrise and he felt like having another snack. Of course, Kai would be at Xander's, so he wouldn't bother there. Buffy might also be more difficult a target than was necessary to bother with just now. But there were others...  
  
"Spike." said Willow, seeing the vampire walk into her room. "I knew you would come."  
"Did you now?" asked Spike. "Guess you foretold your own death then." he crossed over the room and grabbed her, tipping her head back so her neck was exposed. Then he bit her, and sucked from the two holes he had made, but after one mouthful he staggered back. Willow was calm.  
"It's... you!" he accused. "You're the one! The ruler of Water!"  
"I was." she said. "But not anymore. Because you have brought us together like this, we are now fully a part of this world. We both had strong power, but this has been cancelled out by each other, because the powers are equal and opposite. We only have what is naturally ours to begin with."  
"Right." said Spike. "So what does that mean? I'm back to being human?"  
"No," said Willow, "you have a vampire's life now. But if you die, you die and don't return. Same with me. Our powers were never meant to exist beyond our planets' existences. It was an imbalance, just as much as the one that allowed you to destroy Water when the Lexx blew up your planet. The universe may not be intrinsically fair, but the basic laws of balance always apply."  
"Still," said Spike, "I think I'm getting the better deal from this. Even if I'm not completely immortal anymore, I'm the closest thing you can get on Earth. You're human."  
"I prefer it this way." said Willow, smiling as Spike walked out.   
  
Spike went back to the crypt. He didn't want to run into Buffy today, and Kai was an even worse threat. He would stay hidden in the crypt, causing no trouble until they left. He didn't feel too upset about what had happened though, it was true he'd had an unfair advantage over the rest of the world so far, and he'd used his power - unlike Willow. Now things had evened out, he was pretty sure he'd be alright. He had his wits, he'd learned a lot about the world in the hundred years he'd been here, and he was at the top of this planet's food chain. Things could be a lot worse.  
  
Willow arrived at Xander's house, and told everyone to head to the school library. It was Friday, but none of them had bothered with school, having more pressing matters at hand. They would have to make their excuses later though, she had important news.  
"Afternoon." said Giles, as they all walked in, except for Angel, who had preferred to stay at Xander's rather than try and make it there with a blanket or large coat as sun-shade. That lacked class. "Any news about our situation so far?"  
"Yes." said Willow. "Spike has lost his advantage." She told them all the story of what had happened.  
"Wow." said Buffy.   
"You never told me anything about that before." said Xander. "You're telling us basically that you ruled Heaven?"  
"I did." said Willow. "But I'm human now, it was another life. The balance has been restored."  
"Well if that's all sorted, I think we should kill Spike and leave." said Xev. "Kai won't mind killing him before we go." Buffy shook her head.  
"Leave it to me." she said. "I'm not giving Kai the pleasure, when he can't appreciate it. I've wanted to kill Spike for too long to hand over the duty to someone else."  
"But Buffy," said Giles, "Kai clearly has the advantage of strength. He can't be killed. I think perhaps you should let him take care of this."  
"No." said Buffy. "I'm going to do this my way. Kai won't be there with every demon I have to kill, I need to get back into the swing of things, and the more I kill the more I learn."  
"You're sure Spike isn't too much for you?" Xev asked. Buffy nodded.  
"I know how to do this." she said. "I have killed vampires with their childer. I have killed great big snakes, proud young zombies and werewolves. I've killed the evil, the rude, the intelligent, the weak... and the beautiful. All this I have done in the service of my watcher and the forces of good, and I have never once shown any... mercy."  
Kai picked up 790, and looked at Stan and Xev. Then they walked out, and began to make their way back to the Lexx. Sunnydale might be an alright place to visit, but Stan and Xev would never be entirely safe, and so they would find somewhere better to make their home.  
  
The End 


End file.
